Anthony 'Dick' Sarlo, saxophonist, 1925-2013

Anthony "Dick" Sarlo played tenor saxophone and sang, leading combos and big bands in the Chicago area and beyond.

In the 1960s he led a band at the old Villa Venice in what is now Northbrook, and he opened for the Rat Pack — Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, said his wife, Gloria Yorke.

In the early 1950s he was playing what his wife called his first big gig in what was then Chicago's Blackstone Hotel when Albert Pick, owner of what was then the Pick Congress Hotel, was impressed with his playing.

He subsequently became director of entertainment for Pick's chain of hotels. When Pick sold what is now the Congress Plaza Hotel on South Michigan Avenue, the new owners asked Mr. Sarlo to become general manager of the hotel, a position he held for 10 years before leaving the hotel business in the early 1980s.

Mr. Sarlo, 87, died Monday, Jan. 7, in his Homer Glen home. He suffered a fall last summer and was in a coma for a time, according to his wife. He lived in Homer Glen for nearly 30 years, Yorke said.

He was born in Chicago, grew up in Melrose Park and attended what is now Proviso East High School, pursuing his saxophone playing and singing and forming his own combo.

After high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. When the Marines learned of his musical talents, he became part of a Marine Corps band, but that didn't keep him out of the fighting in the Pacific. He was in battles on Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal and Peleliu, according to his wife.

He came back to Chicago after the war and formed the Dick Sarlo Combo and began playing locally. After connecting with Pick, he began playing in a Pick Congress venue called the Glass Hat, at the same time he was working as director of entertainment for a number of Pick's hotels.

In addition to combos, Mr. Sarlo often led big bands. Marty Marshack first played with him in a big band more than 40 years ago.

"All the band members loved him and loved playing for him," Marshack said. "He sang and had a wonderful, wonderful sound."

Marshack said the group played together as recently as 2012, including an occasional Sunday in Grant Park for Chicago SummerDance. Mr. Sarlo's band played the summer event during its inaugural season in 1996, according to Yorke.

After leaving the hotel business, Mr. Sarlo and his wife opened Dick Sarlo's Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Chicago, operating it for about five years.

Yorke and singer Jack Miuccio tell versions of a story about Mr. Sarlo's first meeting with Sinatra at Villa Venice. Sinatra is said to have pointed out that with Mr. Sarlo, Martin, Davis and himself, the group had four singers — perhaps more than were needed.

Miuccio and Yorke say Mr. Sarlo was quick to tell Sinatra he could rest his pipes. "I'll take it from here tonight," Mr. Sarlo is said to have told Sinatra.

"He worked with some of the greats," Yorke said. "His whole life was music."

There are no other immediate survivors.

There will be a reception at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by a 10 a.m. memorial service in the First Church of the Nazarene, 12725 S. Bell Road, Lemont.